


How I Met Your Father

by sweetkpopfan



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Character Death, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 11:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8054680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetkpopfan/pseuds/sweetkpopfan
Summary: Taeyong’s son Mark is going to prom soon. All Mark wanted was a suit, not a 10-hour long documentary on how Taeyong met Ten.





	How I Met Your Father

**Author's Note:**

> I usually write Dojae, but when I was listening to the kdrama W-Two World's OST somehow this screamed Taeten to me XD Also Taeyong as a protective dad is my aesthetic.

                “Prom is supposed to be the best night of our lives, so I hope you get a good suit to mask that face of yours.”

                “This is the thanks I get for asking you? I should have asked Yeri or something.” Mark rolled his eyes at the boy who was talking to him.

                “Don’t you dare. You don’t even like girls.”

                “You’re lucky I’m the only person who can put up with that attitude of yours.”

                “That’s because you love me.” Donghyuck, or better known as Haechan or just Chan sometimes, smiled as he took Mark’s hand and leaned in for a chaste kiss. If Principal Moon Taeil caught any of his students kissing on campus, he would have thrown them in detention and they would be forced to miss prom.

                “You’re also lucky about that.” Mark teased, earning a slap across his arm from his boyfriend. The school bell rang obnoxiously, signalling class to be dismissed and the two teen lovers had to part ways for the time being.

                “I’ll pick you up at 7?”

                “Sure! Jaemin will be at my place so we can all go together.” Haechan said.

                “I’ll give Jeno a call then later.” Mark waved goodbye as he walked home. He was excited to go back and tell his dad, Taeyong about going to prom. Prom was a big deal for the teenager. It meant finishing high school (which was a nightmare for him for the most part) and moving on to college. Mark and Haechan were going to the same college, and Mark’s skills earned him a sports scholarship. Finally, he was going to be an adult. No more curfews, no more being told what to do. No more being treated like a child.

                “Dad? Dad?” he called when he arrived home. Taeyong was supposed to be home earlier today.

                “Dad?”

                “Out here!” Taeyong called from the back yard, where he was hanging out the laundry.

                “Dad! Guess what?! Haechan agreed to go to the prom with me!”

                “Was there ever any doubt?” Taeyong laughed. “I thought you guys agreed to go to prom together when you were 14 or something?”

                “That was when we were still friends Dad. There’s something different in asking your boyfriend this time.”

                “So my son is ready for prom eh?” Taeyong smiled. “Oh how time flies. It feels like it was just yesterday when your father and I came back from Canada, holding you in our arms.”

                “Dad please, now is not the time.” Mark groaned, pulling Taeyong’s arms. “We need to go get a suit.”

                “What’s wrong with your old one?”

                “It was yours, dad!!!” Mark whined. “I want my own suit! I’m old enough!”

                “With this whining you call yourself old enough?”

                “DAD!”

                “Okay okay.” Taeyong sighed. “We’ll go after lunch okay?”

                “Thanks dad!”

                “Did I ever tell you that your father and I met at a dance? It wasn’t a prom and I was with someone else while he was…”

                “Dad can we talk about this after I take a bath? Okay thanks bye!” Mark jolted back inside the house and up the stairs. He really didn’t want to hear naggy Taeyong go on and on about meeting his father Ten. He has heard this story about a million times now, and Taeyong seems to love bringing it up on occasions like this.

                “It was the year end company party. I went with your aunt Irene and Ten was there as a performer.” Taeyong reminisced. “I wasn’t really fond with company parties, but I went because I thought I was going to get the Employee of the Year award.”

                “Which you didn’t.” Mark deadpanned, scooping rice into a bowl.

                “True, but I did get promoted at the end of the year so it wasn’t all that bad. Anyways,” Taeyong continued. “Your father was a part of a dance troupe called NCT, which specialises in hip-hop dancing, and he was the best dancer I have ever seen! Charismatic, handsome, powerful…”

                “Everybody was in love with him.” Mark said.

                “Oh yeah. After his performance everyone wanted a photo with him or to get his number. I was too shy to do anything.”

                “So you waited until the end of the party to try and talk to him.”

                “He was waiting for a bus to take him home, so at the end of the party, I drove over to the bus station and offered to send him home.”

                “And you left aunt Irene at the party and made her take a taxi.” Mark grinned. His aunt Irene always held that against Taeyong.

                “I don’t know what she’s complaining about. She hated my car anyways.” Taeyong scoffed. “Anyways Ten got into my car and I drove him home. Did I mention how he was the most handsome person I had ever seen?”

                “Always.”

                “I dropped him off and it would seem like that was the end of it, but I got up the nerve to ask him for his number, and he gave it to me!”

                “And the rest is history. Can we please go to the store now?” Mark begged. He had swallowed two helpings of rice already.

                “We need to do the dishes.”

                “I can do them! You just go get ready and start the car, I’ll jump in from the window!”

                “You seem a little anxious over a piece of clothing.” Taeyong teased.

                “Dad, it’s prom. Weren’t you anxious on the day of your wedding?”

                “Oh god yes I was. I nearly peed in my suit. Luckily your uncle Yuta was…”

                “DAD.”

*********************

                Mark wouldn’t let Taeyong tell him about his wedding day, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us should not know eh? Taeyong and Ten got married after only a year of dating, and in that year he had only met Ten’s family once. He was under the impression Ten’s family was sceptical about their eldest son dating a _man_ for one thing, but also because Taeyong was just a lowly accountant in a small firm. Ten came from a very impressionable family with high standards, and Taeyong knew he would have been better off if he had a better job with more money, and of course if he was a woman.

                On the day of his wedding with Ten, Taeyong was so incredibly nervous, because not only were Ten’s parents in attendance, but his grandparents too. He heard from Doyoung, Ten’s best man, that Ten’s grandmother was even pickier than his mother. If she didn’t like Taeyong, she could very well just call off the whole wedding and fly home.

                “But that can’t happen.” Yuta, Taeyong’s best friend comforted him. “The wedding is already paid for and everyone knows that you guys will get married to each other no matter what. She wouldn’t spoil it for you out of spite. If she really didn’t support the marriage she wouldn’t have come.”

                “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not just an accountant in a small firm with debts to his name.” Taeyong sighed, rubbing his hands repeatedly. “God I’m going to be sick.”

                “Why? You’re pregnant?”

                “Don’t be ridiculous.” Taeyong scoffed.

                “Then everything is going to be fine.” Yuta smiled. “You love him don’t you?”

                “Of course.”

                “Then that’s what this is all about. Just as long as you two love each other.”

                Taeyong thanked the heavens for his best friend, because he also helped to make sure Taeyong didn’t buckle and fall apart when Ten showed up at the end of the aisle, looking all handsome in his white tuxedo and smiling that perfect smile of his.

                When they exchanged rings and said “I do”, Taeyong took Ten in his arms and kissed him. They could hear the crowd cheering, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Ten’s grandmother wiping her eyes and clapping away. She smiled at Taeyong and gave him a nod, as if to say “take care of my baby.”

                Taeyong took Mark to a tailor, the same one he had been going to for years. As they picked out different fabrics and took Mark’s measurements, Taeyong started talking about all sorts of things. How Ten asked him out for their first date. Their embarrassing honeymoon story. How they decided they were going to adopt Mark. The way Taeyong dressed up as a clown for Mark’s first birthday and scared the shit out of baby Mark who thought his dad had been eaten by a clown.

                “Dad please, enough with the stories.”

                “I can’t help it Mark, it’s just…you’re finally growing up.”

                “Dad, please don’t get sentimental on me now.” Mark groaned as he stood there, getting his measurements taken. “You promised me you weren’t going to do this.”

                “You’re right son.” Taeyong inhaled deeply. “Ten is going to be so excited when he sees you all dressed up.”

                “Dad…” Mark sighed. Old man Kyungsoo, the tailor, looked up at Mark and shushed the teenager.

                “Leave your dad alone.”

                Mark had no choice but to just keep quiet while Taeyong babbled on and on.

*********************

                “Have you gotten a corsage for Haechan?” Taeyong asked as they left the tailor shop.

                “Nope, besides Haechan is allergic to flowers.” Mark shook his head.

                “You can get a fake one. You should always get your partner a corsage. Your father got me one on our wedding day.”

                “Dad…”

                “Granted it came off halfway but it’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?”

                “Dad…”

                “How about transportation? Are you guys going all in one car or do you need me to drive you?”

                “Dad…”

                “If Ten finds out then a bunch of kids took the family car by themselves he’s going to kill me. I better drive you all.”

                “Dad,” Mark stopped, pulling his father’s arm. “Why are you doing this?”

                “Doing what?”

                “Talking about Father as if he still exists.”

                “Of course he exists. Who did you think bought you up all these years?”

                “Dad,” Mark bit his lip. “Father died when I was 7.”

                Taeyong looked back at Mark, bringing his hand to his son’s face. “I know Mark. I know he’s not with us.”

                “Then why do you do this?”

                “Because I like to pretend he still is. It makes me feel less lonely.”

                “Dad…”

                “You’re going to college. Soon you’ll have your own family and life, and you’ll be far away from me.” Taeyong patted Mark’s face gently. “It’s nice to go through these days with someone, even if you have to pretend they still exist.”

*************************

                The lesser known part of Taeyong and Ten’s love story was that Ten died when Mark was 7 years old from cancer. He was a sick man, and the last few days of his life he spent it on a hospital. He still had that same beautiful smile and clever wit, all until he took in his last breath. He asked Mark to be a good boy, and for Taeyong to take care of himself and his family. As long as they were safe and happy, Ten would forever rest in peace.

                On the night of Mark’s prom, Taeyong took at least 17 different pictures with his son, with his son’s friend Jeno, and with their dates Haechan and Jaemin. They decided against letting Taeyong drive them to the prom (Mark insisted on this) and instead rented a limo. Taeyong waved goodbye to his son and his friends as they left for the biggest night of their teenage years.

                Taeyong sat down on the couch, checking all the photos he had taken in his camera. He bought the camera to a picture frame that was on a table next to the couch.

                “Look at our son Ten. He’s all grown up.” Taeyong said, his voice swelling with pride. “You must be so proud of him.”

                Of course Ten doesn’t say anything.

                He doesn’t need to. Taeyong knows exactly what he would say. That’s why he doesn’t feel alone. With the memory of Ten, he knows that he never will be.

 

**Author's Note:**

> because I am a sucker for pain and everlasting love. This was written in the spur of the moment, so do let me know how it is!


End file.
